Sino-SAARC Relations

UNDOUBTEDLY, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) could greatly benefit from its proximity with China especially in terms of the strengthening of their economic relations. But watchers of SAARC and China have not seen this realisation fructifying into any meaningful Sino-SAARC relationship. Speakers at a seminar on SAARC and China, organised by China Study Centre, were right in pointing out at the common denominators between SAARC nations and China. South Asia and China share a long geographical border and, as they put it, commonalities in civilisational continuity in art, history, music or literature. China and the seven-nation combine each have about 1.3 billion people. On the other hand, when it comes to economic growth, the disparity is distinct. South Asia has only a five per cent cumulative growth rate while China has enjoyed 3 to 10 per cent growth pace in the last decade. China's march on the economic growth road has been marked by big jumps, enabling it to be a major player in international economic and financial equation. The hopes that the great leaps forward that China has made in its economy would somehow also have some positive spillover effects on South Asia have however been belied. Foreign affairs experts, intellectuals, academicians and politicians of South Asia, participating in the seminar, laid the blame for a weak SAARC-China economic relations squarely on the SAARC itself, for the slow-paced cooperation even among the member states of the grouping. Indeed, it would be unrealistic to expect the SAARC member nations gaining from China's rapid economic growth without first turning SAARC into a regional combine that internally functions smoothly first and then seriously tries to reach out to boost relations with other countries and similar such regional groupings. A Chinese professor hit it on the nail when he told the gathering that when bilateral relations among the SAARC member states remained tense, some SAARC members would be suspicious of close ties with China. Then there is the slow growth rate of trade among the SAARC member states themselves. But potentials for strengthening SAARC-China relationship are clearly there. The first hitch to tackle here is the lack of good transportation links between China and SAARC nations, without which not much can move ahead. In this connection, the proposed Asian Highway and the Trans-Asian Railway, if they come off the ground, could be a significant step towards boosting China-SAARC relationship. In the days ahead, SAARC must collectively enter into a productive dialogue with China on how the two, boasting of the two-fifths of humanity, could build up mutually beneficial ties and turn the current Sino-SAARC situation into a vibrant relationship.

Bridges & Development

THE construction works of the suspension bridge over Mahakali River that had been postponed six months ago before the monsoon season, as per a news item carried by this daily the other day, have resumed. According to the report, the 1,500 metre-long suspension bridge that links Chandani VDC with Pipraiya of Mahendranagar municipality, upon completion, would also be the longest among the multi-span suspension bridges in Asia. More importantly, the same suspension bridge, with its completion, would be greatly facilitating over 50,000 people of two village development committees in that they need not have to make a detour through India to go to the district headquarters for official or personal business. It has long been accepted by all, including the development experts, that bridges, be they rudimentary or modern in made and design, are verily the arteries that not only link various villages and communities with each other but also assist in the movements of various goods and development-related ideas from one place or community to another. This is more so in Nepal which is singularly characterised by, among others, a difficult terrain that is further aggravated by the lack of modern transport networks. It could be due to this, and more, that the vast majority of the people residing in the rural areas of the country are still living in abject poverty and want. Hence, if their living standards were to be raised, then the need for the concerned authorities to expedite construction of modern transport networks in their areas has become imperative. Amongst such facilities, bridges are definitely one of them.

It's not that Nepal lacks bridges. The innumerable bridges that still span many rivers and gorges are there for all to see. However, since most of them are crude in both made and design, they are susceptible to any natural and man-made calamities that, whenever they do occur, tend to obstruct the locals from carrying out development works. The absence of modern transport networks, on the other hand, is not only hampering the concerned authorities from transporting materials to the rural areas to construct modern bridges, but is also ballooning up the costs. But then, considering the pivotal role that modern bridges play in the overall development endeavours of the nation and the people, the concerned authorities, despite being in an unenviable situation, should renew their efforts to mobilise all available resources, manpower and expertise to construct more bridges throughout the nation.